Parts of speech
Nouns
used as part of the name, such as Aunty Maude; and
names of subject areas (maths, science) are also no
longer considered proper nouns.
• Names of games or activities are common nouns.
Example:
swimming, running, football
• Trade names are usually capitalised; e.g. Apple™.
Focus
Common and proper nouns
Definitions
• Nouns are words used to name people, places,
things, feelings and ideas.
• Common nouns name general, rather than specific,
people, places, ideas and things.
Example: The words in bold in the following
sentence are nouns (in this context):
The boy started walking towards the building,
but stopped when he saw the black cat cross his
path.
• Proper nouns are words used to name very specific
people, places or things and begin with capital
letters.
Example:
William started walking towards Viddle’s
Bookshop, but stopped when Toffee, the black
cat, crossed Station Street right in front of him.
Worksheet information
• Explain the worksheet task to the students. They
work individually to identify and sort the nouns in the
newspaper headlines, adding some of their own to
the table.
• The four nouns in the second headline can be
arranged in the grid so that they can be read both
horizontally and vertically.
Ideas for further practice
• Students listen to and follow the lyrics of a song,
then write the nouns and proper nouns they hear.
• Using a list of common and proper nouns, students choose one to act out in a game of charades.
• Students create a team presentation that will explain
to the rest of the class the differences between
common and proper nouns.
• Students practise sorting proper and common nouns
in an interactive online activity at
<http://www.ezschool.com/Games/NounSort2.
html>.
Explanation
• The word ‘noun’ comes from the Latin ‘nomen’,
which means ‘name’. Nouns are often called
naming words.
• While most nouns can be categorised as either
common or proper nouns, there are two further
main categories of nouns—collective; e.g. herd, and
abstract; e.g. fear.
• Some words used as nouns can also be verbs or
adjectives, depending on the context in which they
are used.
Example:
We water (verb) our garden at night to conserve
water (noun).
• Common nouns are not capitalised unless they begin
a sentence or start a title. Some words that would
appear to need capitalisation, such as the names of
the seasons (winter, summer, spring and autumn),
are no longer capitalised because, through long
usage, they have come to be considered common
nouns. Cardinal directions (north, south, east and
west); words for relatives (mum, aunty)—unless
Primary grammar and word study Answers
2.Proper nouns: Fluffy the Dragon, Cinderella,
Princess, Hapland, Three Blind Mice.
Common nouns: disaster, police, sheep,
resuscitation, newt, idea, gate, king, slipper, finger,
shoes
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Common and proper nouns
Proper nouns are words that start with capital letters to name
particular people, places or things.
Common nouns name general things, people, places, feelings
and ideas.
1. Read these fairytale newspaper headlines.
2. Write the proper nouns and common nouns from each headline under the correct
heading in the table below. Add some other nouns to the table that you think
might be included in the rest of the articles.
Proper nouns
Common nouns
3. There are four four-letter nouns in the second newspaper report. Write them
below, then try to fit them into this square puzzle.
Each word must go both across and down.
k
•
•
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Primary grammar and word study
Parts of speech
Nouns
abstract noun is not something that we can touch,
hear, smell or see. It is usually a thought, idea, event,
concept, emotion or feeling.
• Some further examples include: advice, afterthought,
anger, beauty, business, confidence, enjoyment,
freedom, friendship, fun, happiness, health,
help, history, honesty, importance, information,
intelligence, justice, knowledge, law, love, luck,
opportunity, patience, peace, pride, progress,
responsibility, sleep, time, traffic, travel, trouble,
truth, violence, vocabulary and wealth.
• Give each student a copy of the worksheet and read
the explanation and examples of abstract nouns.
Students select two to write and draw a symbol for.
This will reinforce the concept that an abstract noun
can not be seen or touched; they may find it hard to
decide upon an image.
• For Question 2, students write an abstract noun for
each concrete noun.
• To complete the worksheet, students rearrange the
boxes, without changing the order of the letters
inside the boxes, to find the collective noun for the
person, place or thing.
Focus
Collective and abstract nouns
Definitions
• Collective nouns are words used to name groups of
people, animals and things.
Example:
crowd, pack, class, bunch
• Abstract nouns are words used to name ideas,
feelings, events or qualities that can not be seen,
heard, smelled, tasted or touched.
Example:
generosity, joy, enlightenment, honesty
Explanation
• A collective noun represents a single group made up
of more than one person or a thing; e.g. a committee,
team, or family can not consist of one member, at
least two people must compose the unit. They can
be considered singular or plural. When referring to
the collective group, singular tends to be used when
all members of the collective noun are doing the
same thing at the same time.
Example:
The team is flying to Melbourne for the finals.
However, when referring to the individual members
of the team acting, the plural can be used.
Example:
The team are reconsidering their futures.
• ‘Terms of venery’ are collective nouns for types of
game and other wild animals, such as a murder of
crows and a parliament of rooks.
• Abstract nouns can be either count (meeting,
experience) or non-count nouns (love, charity).
Ideas for further practice
• After reading aloud to the students, or shared
reading, ask students to list some of the names
of any feelings, events, ideas or thoughts the
characters in the story may have had or felt.
• Students paint an abstract noun, using the colours
they feel best represent it. Different paintings of
the same noun can be presented as simply the way
different people see it, with each representation
having equal value.
• Students investigate and create abstract artworks.
Answers
Worksheet information
1.–2. Teacher check
• If students have not been previously introduced to
abstract nouns, it will be necessary to introduce
the concept before starting this worksheet. Perhaps
give them a list for a ‘treasure hunt’, such as ‘book,
pencil, paper, happiness, youth’. Students go on the
hunt and will finish having been unable to find the
abstract nouns on their list. Explain to them that an
3. (a) a host of angels
(b) an orchestra of musicians
(c) a string of ponies
(d) a quiver of arrows
(e) a gaggle of geese
Primary grammar and word study 4
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Collective and abstract nouns
Abstract nouns are words that name things we can not touch,
smell, see, taste or hear. They are often the names of feelings,
events and ideas.
John’s friendship with the alien brought new information, technology and
knowledge to the people of Earth. In return, the alien had, for the first time,
experienced humour and happiness. It was John’s belief that their friendship
would create peace between the two planets.
1. Write any two abstract nouns from the paragraph above and draw a symbol to
represent each.
2. For each of the concrete nouns below, write an abstract noun (idea or feeling) to
show what each means to you or what feelings it gives you;
e.g. My teacher’s smile means approval to me.
(a) A puppy dog means
(b) A good joke means
(c) A shiny trophy means
(d) A million dollars means
Collective nouns are words that name groups of people, places
and things. For example, ‘team’ is the collective noun for a group
of people doing something (usually playing a game) together.
3. Rearrange the boxes with pairs of letters to find the collective nouns.
Don’t change the order of the letters inside the boxes.
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Primary grammar and word study